E Fares....What a Joke!!!
Mar 19, 2014, 9:21 am
#47
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My recollection of pre-deregulation days is somewhat fuzzy. But, as I recall, flexibility really wasn't in the mix, largely due to the technology. There was F, Y, some form of round-trip and eventually advance purchase. I also don't recall that seat selection ocurred prior to check-in (and that, of course, ocurred at the counter close to flight time).
It wasn't until well after deregulation that the concept of multiple fare buckets became a reality.
European airlines have long offered fares which cannot be changed and which retain no value if not flown exactly as booked. Again, these fares are not for all. But, they are a great opportunity for those where a few bucks makes the difference.
It wasn't until well after deregulation that the concept of multiple fare buckets became a reality.
European airlines have long offered fares which cannot be changed and which retain no value if not flown exactly as booked. Again, these fares are not for all. But, they are a great opportunity for those where a few bucks makes the difference.
Mar 19, 2014, 9:24 am
#48
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To me, I used to think E Fares were a total joke. However, since the Change Fee has been raised to $200, there may be some practical applications where if you can endure not having a seat assignment ahead, it might not be that bad to just get an E Fare.
Mar 19, 2014, 9:38 am
#49
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I've plunked around on Norwegian's web site to see how cheap I could put together a Florida-Scandanavia route, and their seat selection fee is pretty modest- $40-$60 range, or less than what it takes to get my kettle self an EC seat to go across the pond. And WN charges something like $15 early boarding each way to give yourself a quite good shot at grabbing an aisle exit row. I doubt the legacy market would bear 'a few hundred bucks more' for a seat guarantee when the LCs seem to have already dialed it in as a relatively low upcharge in order to maximize their revenue on that option.
Mar 19, 2014, 10:52 am
#50
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While people fixate on seat assignments, the bigger conditions of the E fare is that they are non-refundable and non-changeable. In other words, you fly them exactly as booked or there is no residual credit, either in the form of a refund or a credit.
Mar 19, 2014, 1:24 pm
#51
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Which is the exact opposite of a $89 Southwest fare in the PBI-ATL market. Fully changeable with a $0 change fee (up to 1h? before departure these days, I think).
Mar 19, 2014, 2:03 pm
#52
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Not that it really matters much to the original post, but, you can change or cancel a SW ticket up to 10 minutes prior to departure time (from what they told me a coup'la months ago), but, while there's no penalty, you DO hafto upfare to whatever the walk up fare is from whatever discount advance purchase fare you may have bought.
Mar 19, 2014, 2:24 pm
#53
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Will WN still honor the $89 fare or doesn't WN hit you for the upfare as it's way of saying that changes are penalty free?
Mar 19, 2014, 3:00 pm
#54
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Does DL call the incremental fare a penalty?
Mar 19, 2014, 6:13 pm
#55
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But, to answer yours, no. DL does not charge a fare difference on SDC and the SDC fee is waived for elites and is pretty low for the rest.
Hope somebody can supply the WN answer.
Mar 19, 2014, 6:31 pm
#56
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Not that it really matters much to the original post, but, you can change or cancel a SW ticket up to 10 minutes prior to departure time (from what they told me a coup'la months ago), but, while there's no penalty, you DO hafto upfare to whatever the walk up fare is from whatever discount advance purchase fare you may have bought.
Mar 19, 2014, 7:48 pm
#58
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"E" fares are like flying Spirit without the ability to change flights or pay up to a better seat.
Actually that makes "E" fares "Spirit Minus"!
or Spirit is actually "E"+ !
Actually that makes "E" fares "Spirit Minus"!
or Spirit is actually "E"+ !
Mar 19, 2014, 9:01 pm
#59
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I pointed out that a last minute change in DL would incur both a change fee and, likely an upfare. And, no, I was not talking about SDC.
Mar 19, 2014, 10:24 pm
#60
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